Are you ready to race again? Anxious to catchup with swimming friends you haven’t seen in over a year? Want to race in your own pool? Follow the steps outlined below to bid and host a swim competition.
Oregon Masters Swimming has consistently grown in both the number of swimmers and the number of teams and facilities that have an interest in hosting a pool meet. Hosting a meet requires a time commitment and human power; however, it also provides the opportunity for a group to earn money and support the concept of Masters swimming. To facilitate bidding for pool meets, OMS has compiled the “Meet Bid Packet”. This can be found on the OMS website, swimoregon.org. Go to “Swimmer Resources,” then “Swim Meet Bid and Contract.” Click on its hyperlink and download the packet. Follow the instructions included in the “Host a Masters Meet.” If you have any questions, feel free to contact the Vice-Chairman, Robbert van Andel, swimmer1974@gmail.com.
The OMS Board will review all meet bids and formulate the 2022 Meet Schedule. You will then be contacted to confirm the meet dates, meet format, and to finalize the meet contract. Contests, fun creative relays, raffles, drawings, etc. with prizes are encouraged, as they reduce the stress of a meet and swimmers enjoy them. If you have any special ideas, feel free to bring them up in your bid packet. We are hoping some of you with pools to which we haven’t been in a while, will offer to host a meet.
If you are a small Masters team, you can still host a meet successfully if you have an age-group team willing to help and share the profits. Pool rental fees have increased. If you are faced with a high pool rental situation, submit a projected accounting with your bid. The OMS board can raise the swimmers’ entry fee to compensate for the additional money your team has to pay. You must inform us, though, for the entry fee to be raised.
The 2022 Competitive Calendar is currently wide open. It is our intention to have a Pool meet, each month of the year. Be aware of holidays, and during the summer months be careful not to bid on a meet the same weekend as an Open Water Swim. Keep in mind, the USA Swimming meet calendar; many of our officials pull double duty with USA Swimming and USMS competitions.
If you have any questions as you are going through this bidding process, please contact the Vice-Chairman, Robbert van Andel, swimmer1974@gmail.com. I hope we will soon be working together for another great meet season.
Swimmingly,
Tim Waud/OMS Chair